1. Dishwasher and Washing Machine Usage – fill them up!!

You do need to be careful here as over loading either the dishwasher or washing machine can damage them; however putting on a half load is very wasteful. Having read my instructions on both (which I did recently as I felt the dishwasher was not cleaning the glass ware properly), I discovered that they caution against using the pre rinsing cycle as it uses a lot of water. Most washing machines now have many cycles for optimum clothes/towel/bath mats.. washing however it is worth checking the instructions to see how much water they use – the more cycles/rinses they have the more water they use! The permanent cycle for example can use an extra 20 litres every time you use it, that’s a lot of additional water, that you will be paying for once the water metres come into effect.

Overall it appears that if you have a smaller load you should reduce the water levels to match. If you are investing in a washing machine or dishwasher in the near future you should clearly research their energy star rating – from my basic research I have discovered that some of the newer machines use up to 50% less water & energy – so you can save the cost of the new machine in a couple of years!!

I am afraid its back to the old ways are best here – when families had to get water from the well they had to make many trips & carry heavy water containers – so they economised – well its the same principal now! Get a basin & fill it with hot water or put your sink stopper in & fill the sink to wash the dishes/ pots and pans together in one go. Try and spray them with the detergents you use to clean in advance so the tough stains can be removed easier. I spotted some really good Swivel Tap Aerators on Amazon recently but they are also available in most DIY stores, they reduce your water usage and the high powered spray greatly helps in the cleaning process. Its also worth filing the sink to wash vegetables and fruit rather than letting the tap run & wasting water

3. Drinking Water kept cool:

Children and adults hopefully consume a large amount of water everyday for a healthy lifestyle, almost by habit I run the tap to get the water to the correct cool temperature, but recently I started filling school water bottles & a large 2 lt bottle for us to use at home & store them in the fridge, they are always cold that way (much easier to drink really cold fresh water) and you are saving water

4. High water usage for sink waste disposal units:

I recently discovered that sink disposal units need a large volume of water to break down and dispose of the waste they take in, food bin collection is an extra charge in some regions so a garden composter (fruit, veg, grass cuttings etc..) is a great solution – as it acts as great fertilizer for garden plants & disposes of this waste free of charge